I Curse Thee Snow Running!

Sadly, this is not how I run in the snow.

What a year it has been for snow lovers in Canada. It seems that every day some region in Central/Eastern Canada is getting walloped with a dumping of snow.  This is heaven for those who like to ski, toboggan, skidoo, snowshoe and whatever other random snow related activity. But for us die hard runners, it can quickly become the bane of our existence.

If I step back some years to my previous stint of hot and heavy running, I never really ran in the winter. Yup, I was, what I would call today, a 'fair-weather' runner.  Mostly, but not entirely.  So snap back to this winter and I've been running as steadily as possible through some ridiculous snow storms and unploughed roads and sidewalks. Thanks London!

These shitty road conditions make for lots of cursing and wasted energy as I, one of the heaviest runners on my team, trudges through inches of soft snow losing most of the explosive power from my calves. It becomes more a battle of wit and mind than one of sheer power and physical endurance. But if you've got a lower limb injury or are prone to re-activating an old injury, I would recommend you stay the hell away and find solid footing. I've managed to keep my IT Band under control, but now I've gone and strained my hip flexor some, something I'm very afraid of aggravating now.

In a nutshell, I hate running in soft snow. I'd rather it be hard packed and crisp, give me a full winter of -12C and I'd be happy. None of this -1C weather and then -25C...